Cel's Story
by Cel-Edhowi Art'k
Summary: I dedicate this story to all of my friends on SW: Galaxies, Iluagon and some others which I don't remember their character names. SUMMARY: CelEdhowi Art'k is a beautiful pink skinned Twi'lek dancer for Jabba. The night after his assasinatio
1. The beggining of the end

**-Chapter one-  
**The beginning of the end

There it was, Jabba's palace. It was the first time in 15 years that I saw it from the outside. The first of the two suns just disappeared from the horizon and the second was about to do so. I managed to get this far, and at this point, there was no turning back. Since it was dawn, the excruciating heat from the desert planet was settling down. It was about 30 degrees right now, but it wasn't a little heat that was going to slow me down.

I started walking northeast, to the nearest city, Bestine. The trip would take all night, so I had to find a place to stay. Everyone knows that the nights on Tatooine are dangerous, with all those Tusken Raiders wandering around, searching for someone to mess with. I did not have anything to defend myself, except for this wooden stick I found on the ground just outside from Jabba's Palace. I used it to lean on it. I often heard that the nights on Tatooine were freezing cold, so I needed to find a place to stay and quick; because the second sun just disappeared, and I could feel the temperature dropping at a fast rate.

* * *

My name is Cel-Edhowi Art'k, daughter of Drymi-Edhowi and Lekma Art'k, and here is my story. I used to live on a farm on the beautiful planet of Corellia in the Core Worlds region. My dad was a hunter so he taught me how to survive in the wild. When I was 8, criminals came to Vreni Island, and threatened to kill my family, so they had to sell me, and my brother, Dan-Edhowi, in slavery. We got separated right away, and I didn't hear from any of them since. Then, they took me to a smuggling complex and they had some other exotic dancers teach me how to dance so I would catch Hutt's attention. I stayed until they felt I was ready for Jabba, and then they flew me to Bestine, Tatooine. I've been 'living' at Jabba's Palace on Tatooine for almost 15 years.

I never really wanted to leave, fearing that I would get caught by one of the many guards surrounding Jabba's Palace. But now was the perfect time, because yesterday, the disgusting crime lord, after killing one of my only true friends, Oola, was killed by some Jedi called Luke Skywalker.

My friend, Oola, had the 'privilege' of being chained to Jabba's throne, because she was the best dancer of us all. When Jabba wanted her to do more than dancing, she refused. Seeing that she denied serving him, he opened a trap and fed her to his ferocious Rancor right before my eyes. Since Jabba's dead, all the guards were distracted, so I could escape without any problems. So, here I am, running for my life outside Jabba's Palace.

* * *

I kept on walking when suddenly this big canyon appeared in front of me. I could see miles ahead, and at about one and a half kilometers in front of me, I saw a light. It was a fire. I started running towards the fire and, as I approached, I could recognize a campsite. I approached the campsite carefully, to find that the place was empty. As I entered the tent, I saw that the owner left a few things. Right on the ground, there was a CDEF carbine, some bovine food, a personal computer and some male's clothes. There was also a small backpack and a droid. The droid was torn apart, and of no use. I opened the backpack to put the food in it and to my surprise I find some credits, a 150 of them. This will come really handy since I don't have any. The clothes were too big for me, but they would fit me better than the slave outfit that I'm currently wearing.

As I started walking towards the tent's entrance, I heard something. It was the sound of a speeder bike! I needed to get out of there as fast as possible. I got back in the tent, lifted it and made an escape under it. As I got out of the tent, the owner got in. I quietly made a run for the bike. I hoped on it and quickly pressed on the gas. As I escaped, I saw the man get out of the tent screaming at me in some Zabrak language.

* * *

I soon arrived at my destination; Bestine. I must not be noticed. I parked the bike at the city entrance and I got in. The city was swirling with clone troopers, so I had to fade in with the crowd. I entered the city and headed right away for the Cantina. I needed to eat, because it's been hours since I've had a bite of anything. As soon as I entered the Cantina, I spotted an empty seat at the bar and sat down. Quickly, the droid barman spotted me and came over.

"_Would you like something to drink?"_ Said the droid as he approached me,

"_Yeah, I will take a vasarian brandy."_ Suddenly, this handsome, tall, young human male sat right next to me. He looked at the droid and replied,

"_Make that two, and put it on my account."_ He handed over his card to the droid. The man was about 25 years old. He was pretty tall with brown hair and sizzling blue eyes. He looked at me and said,

"_What's a beautiful lady like you doing in such a dangerous place so late at night?"_ I looked at him, staring in his deep blue eyes.

"_I'm searching for a place to stay." _A grin slowly appeared on his face as he replied nervously,

"_I've got a small house a few kilometers from here? Would you be inte—"_ The droid re-appeared with two glasses full of a blood red liquid, cutting the conversation.

"_Here are your drinks, enjoy!"_ The droid then disappeared behind the huge counter. The man took a sip of this devilish liquid before continuing the conversation.

"_As I was saying, I've got a small house a few kilometers from here, just north of Bestine. You are more than welcome to come and spend a few days with me."_ I looked at him trough my already empty glass and said sarcastically,

"_I don't just leave with anybody without at least knowing their name…"_ As the man finished his drink, he looked at me, and nodded,

"_Oh, you're right! My name is Chadi Jekell Ekacalendes of Dalku Haush, a small city at about 4 to 5 kilometers north from here. I'm originally from Tena Vivra, a few kilometers south from Theed, Naboo, but I established myself in this little city a few weeks ago. I'm on Tatooine for some business. And you are?"_ I finally handed the glass over to the droid,

"_My name is—"_Chadi looked at me and leaned a finger over his mouth.

"_Shhhh…"_ He looked over my shoulder. _"Don't turn around, but at the entry, there are three of Jabba's Gamorrean guards. One of them is pointing at you. I don't know about you, but this doesn't look good. There is an exit in the back and I think we should leave right now!"_ I slowly got up from my seat and one of the guards approached me, but I did not turn around. Chadi looked at me, and whispered,

"_Let's go, now!"_ I looked at him and replied,

"_No, not now…"_ I turned around, quickly got my carbine in my backpack and shot the guard down to the other two guard's feet. The two guards surprisingly looked at the dead man on the floor. I looked at Chadi and said,

"_Now's the time! Let's go!"_

We quickly ran towards the back exit and left the Cantina. I looked at Chadi and asked,

"_Do you have a ride?"_ He replied, embarrassed,

"_I don't live far from here, so I walked."_ I took a moment of reflection and then quickly replied,

"_Quick, in front of the Cantina, there is my speeder bike. Let's run!"_ We both made a run for it. We quickly arrived in front of the Cantina. There it was, at the exact same spot where I left it, still floating in thin air. We stopped in front of the bike and looked at each other. Chadi then said,

"_Ladies first."_ I gave him a smile and hoped on the bike with his help. He hopped in front of me and said,

"_Hang on!"_ I squeezed him as tight as I could as we left at an incredible speed, flying through the laser beams delivered by the two guards that were now far behind us.

* * *

We quickly arrived at Chadi's house. It was a small typical Tatooine house situated on the left side of the town, next to a small garage. Chadi parked the speeder bike in the garage where it will not be seen and we hopped off the bike.

"_I didn't get that name of yours?"_ Said Chadi as I carefully pulled back my lekku and tucked in my oversized shirt as we walked towards the house.

"_Oh yeah, that's right, we kept getting interrupted. My name is Cel-Edhowi Art'k from Vreni Island, Corellia. I've been living here for almost 15 years."_ He then looked at me and asked,

"_What are you here for? Business?"_ I looked at him embarrassed and replied,

"_Not exactly... All those years, I've been one of many Jabba's dancers. I was enslaved to that disgusting Hutt. Tonight, I managed to escape from his palace. Now, here I am, talking with you."_ He suddenly stopped walking, turned around and looked at me with a surprised look on his face.

"_You really were…? What a coincidence, I've had my problems with this sucker before. You must've had a lot of courage to tackle Jabba's guards like that?"_ I giggled and replied,

"_Yeah, I really wanted to get out of there. But everything went okay; I knew the place a little bit. But now that I'm out of there, I want to start a new life on a new Identity."_ He then looked at me and said,

"_Well, I guess this is the beginning of the end."_


	2. Destination: Theed Starport, Naboo

**-Chapter two-  
**Destination: Theed Starport, Naboo

"_My creator, Kika'lekki, mother of the five teardrops, please hear me as I speak._

_Grant me the wisdom to see your hand in my life and the conviction to remain true to you when it seems all hope is lost. Open my mind and heart that you may guide me. Show me what is best, empower me and grant me favour that through you I may find the strength and knowledge to walk the path you set for me._

_You have power, I have none. You know what I cannot even imagine. If the path I choose is good for my life and the lives I touch, then make it easy for me, and bless it for me. If the path is bad, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. I am weak. Give me the strength I need. If my burden oppresses me beyond my bearing, lighten my load, that my strength may be equal to it._

_Lead me to live in such a way to honour the memory of those who have discovered what only you know for certain. Help me to be at peace, as those who have passed before me are at peace. They have left a part of themselves and shall live forever in my memories. Let me not forget that they will always be there, with love and with all the best wishes for my future._

_Let me walk in the knowledge that with harm to none, and for the good of all, my prayer is heard. I can make change happen in my life today, I am blessed with free will, and that by my intention all acts of peace and non-violence will manifest._

_Blessings be unto all your children and those that uphold them as you would see them upheld. I remain your child, your faithful servant and my love for you knows no bounds. Hear me, Mother; my prayer and heart are yours. "_

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, blinded by the bright light entering the small hub window of Chadi's house. There he was; sitting at the table, working on something. I didn't quite recognise what he was working on; it was some kind of a metallic box. I finally decided to move, and sat on the side of the bed. Without turning back to look at me, Chadi noticed that I just woke up and said, 

_"Come here, I've got something to show you."_ I got up, walked towards him and, peeked over his right shoulder at what he's working on. It was some kind of droid.

_"This is a MSE-6 Droid. People usually call it the mouse droid. I found it in a junkyard not far from here. Once I get it working, it will be very useful for my ship."_ Chadi then turned on a switch and the upside down droid tried to move. The tiny wheels under it started spinning at an incredible speed.

I leaned toward the droid and touched the button again, the wheels stopped spinning, and the robot went dead.

_"What does it do?"_ I asked with much interest.

"_It's for delivering messages on a ship. Amazing, isn't it?"_ I then looked at his freshly shaved beard, his incredible smile, and those sizzling blue eyes and replied,

_"Incredibly wonderful… You said you had a ship? Mind showing me?"_ He looked at me, and smiled,

_"How about you dress up in decent clothes first. I've got a few somewhere around here."_ I looked at him with a grin and asked,

_"And… can you tell me why you have girls clothes?"_ He then answered, without turning back,

_"It's my ex-girlfriend's clothes. She left them here after leaving in a breeze."_ Chadi then opened one of his multiple drawers and took an incredibly beautiful pink dress out of it. He handed it over to me.

_"I guess this will look better than the oversized clothes you currently have on…"_

* * *

I got out of the other room, facing the automatic door as it opened to reveal myself. I was now dressed with the gorgeous pink dress. Chadi then looked at me with a wonderful look in his eyes.

_"Would you happen to have a lekku wrap? I'd need one, because my lekku's keep getting in the way."_ He got up, walked to his drawer, got this black leather lekku wrap out of it, and said,

_"My ex-girlfriend was also a Twi'lek. I don't know why, but it seems I've got something for female Twi'leks, they're so amazingly graceful and beautiful."_ He closed the drawer, turned around and came towards me. He was now wearing parts of a deep armour, and it fitted wonderfully.

_"I guess I've got something for incredibly nice guys just like you." _He was now at about 2 meters from me when he said nervously,

_"How about I show you that ship of mine, I need to leave soon, I've got some business to attend to on Naboo. At the same time, I could show you my other house on this beautiful planet."_ I looked at his muscular arms yet not covered by his red armour.

_"Sure, that would be a wonderful idea! "_ I was excited to go to Naboo, I've never visited the planet but I've heard a lot about it. Every night, before I went to bed, my mom used to read me stories about this perfect planet full of dreams. Since then, I've dreamed about it almost every night. The visions I had in my dreams were more than realistic. The view of the grand waterfall of Theed, the wonderful Theed palace, the never ending landscapes; I saw them all the time in my dreams. It's almost as if I've been there before.

We entered the garage next to his house. There was this huge ship. I didn't recognise it, it was a ship mainly built by Chadi himself.

_"What is this ship?"_ I asked,_ "I never saw one like that"_ He quickly answered,

_"Of course you never saw one like this before, I built it myself. It's fully customized with hyperdrive and some other modifications. I call it the IG-2000"_ I looked at it, it was quite big for a small ship. It was a bit rusted, but was still looking very good. He pressed on a button and a door under it opened. I entered the ship and, It looked okay. The cockpit was quite bigger than I expected. The walls were covered with a red velvety fabric and the seats looked very comfortable. Chadi looked at me and, pointing at the seat, he said,

_"Please, sit down."_ I looked at him, giggled and sat down on the passenger's seat. Chadi sat down at the driver's seat, pressed on a few buttons and all kinds of buttons lit up. He pressed on another button and the ship lifted, and there we were, raising trough the horizon. The destination: Theed Starport, Naboo.


	3. What was that all about?

**-Chapter three-  
**What was that all about?

We just entered the blue planet's atmosphere. It remembered me of my home planet, Corellia; it brought back some happy memories, memories of my parents and my brother. It also brought back some sad memories; those of being captive, leaving the planet with the smugglers that enslaved me to the disgusting Hutt. The planet was amazingly beautiful.

I was astonished by Theed's waterfall. It was bigger than I remembered from my dreams. There it was, Theed Starport. The place was huge. As we approached, I could see hundreds of people at the plaza surrounding the Starport. Suddenly, a red light started to bleep and a female voice shouted.

"_Please state your Identification number please."_ Chadi then replied,

"_My identification number is 5600-22197, permission to land?"_

"_Permission granted. Welcome to Naboo Mr. Soriante."_ answered the female voice. Chadi then looked at me and winked. He then said with a calming tone,

"_Welcome to Naboo, Cel."_ The simplicity of him saying 'Cel' made me smile. He was a real gentleman. Since then, no one had ever treated me so nicely. I looked at him, giggled and replied,

"Welcome to Naboo Mr. 'Soriante'. I guess I'm better off if I don't ask any questions. Will I get a personal guide to visit the planet?" 

_"Sure, but now I don't have the time, I need to get to business first."_ I then glanced at his beautiful eyes; I could not believe how beautiful they were. They remembered me of my mother's. They were as beautiful and as peaceful as them. I clearly missed my family.

We quickly landed at Theed's Starport. The landing was quick and smooth; Chadi really knew how to handle a ship. The place had this nice Victorian feel; marble floors, high ceilings and rich colors. The place didn't seem like a Starport, it seemed more like a palace.

As I unboarded the ship, I was welcomed by a silver metallic droid. He reminded me of C3-PO, a droid I saw a few days ago, except that this one wasn't gold, it was silver.

_"Welcome to Naboo."_ said the droid. It had a woman's voice, so I estimated it was a 'female' droid. Chadi then looked at the droid, saluted 'her' and started walking towards the biggest door I've ever seen, besides the door at Jabba's. Behind that door was a long corridor, filled with all sort of landscape paintings, plants and at the far end, a blue terminal.

_"I need to do something here. Afterwards, we will hop on the bike and head for my place. It'll only take a minute."_ said Chadi while walking towards that terminal. He took a metallic card out of his pocket and swiped it in. As I walked towards him, he was pressing on the screen. Something then suddenly appeared on the terminal's screen.

I did not quite understand a lot of languages, but I recognized Naboo's home language. I could read the word 'thank' and 'transaction', so I guess he just made a transaction to his card.

"_Let's go to the garage, we'll take the speeder, I left it there when I left for Tatooine."_ said Chadi as he took out his card from the machine. He walked out and I followed him closely. We erupted in the plaza. The place was filled with so many different species; I had trouble recognizing some of them.

"_Are you hungry Cel?"_ said Chadi as he pointed towards a restaurant. _"We could stop and get something to eat if you want to."_

* * *

I have never seen a restaurant on Tatooine. We only had Cantinas, and they were always filled up with a lot of people you don't want to mess with. We entered the restaurant. It was filled with nice looking people, not the kind you would see on Tatooine. My mom had a restaurant. Rumors said that she cooked the best Shaak in the entire galaxy.

Chadi seemed nervous as we approached a Clone Trooper leaning on the wall nearby. He was looking at some blue hologram.

"_I don't think this is a good place to hang out, it's swarming with Clone Troopers."_ said Chadi as he turned back as if he wanted to leave the place. I took him by the hand; he turned around and looked me in the eyes.

"_Wait. Don't be nervous, I'm the one here who should be nervous. They should be running after me, because I am the one who ran away, remember?"_ He looked pale, and sweat was dripping off his forehead.

"_No, Cel, trust me. I really think we should leave for the garage right now, and head back to my place."_ he answered with a shaky and unsure voice.

"_I feel like you have something to hide? Am I right?"_ He looked at me as the guard remarked us. He started walking towards Chadi and poked him on the shoulder.

"_Excuse me, sir. May I see some identification please?"_ said the Clone Trooper standing right behind Chadi. A few seconds went by; it seemed as if Chadi was thinking about what to do. Chadi lifted his hand and pointed it towards the guards head.

"_You don't need to see my identification."_

"_I don't need to see you're identification." _replied the guard.

"_You are sorry for interrupting our conversation."_ said Chadi with his hand still lifted towards the Trooper's head.

"_I am sorry for interrupting you're conversation, sir. Have a nice day."_ The clone trooper walked away. I looked at Chadi, not realizing what just happened.

"_What… What was that all about?"_ I asked.

"_Quick, we need to leave, now. This mind trick won't last long, and he will realize what just happened."_ said Chadi while quickly walking towards the entrance. _"Quick, follow me to the garage; I've got a speeder bike we can use."_

I looked at him, then at the guard. I was confused. Chadi exited the restaurant and I followed him to the garage. He took his card and swiped it in a device next to the garage's sliding door. A red light started flashing on the device, meaning that the card obviously wasn't working. I turned around, and saw the guard running towards us.

"_Chadi, open the door, quick! The guard is coming towards us!"_ Chadi then closed his eyes. He pointed his hand over to the sliding door and screamed. At the same time, the door blew open. He opened his eyes as I was getting on the bike. He got in and hopped behind me.

"_Are you sure you don't want me to drive?"_ said Chadi with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"_No, I think I can do that myself!"_ I quickly pressed on the gas, and left the place in a hurry.

* * *

The plaza was still swirling with hundredths of people as I was driving towards them. I looked behind me trough all the people on the plaza, and there was the Clone Trooper coming in full charge with a Speeder Bike of his own. As soon as there was no one in my way, I pressed on it. I started hovering over Theed's river. I was heading towards the waterfall.

"_Cel! You are crazy! There's no way you can arrive at the bottom in one piece!"_ said Chadi while quickly starting to panic as I am leaning towards the edge.

"_Trust me; these bikes are amazing!"_ I then pressed on it. The guard started shooting at us as I quickly approached the side. At just about 2 seconds before the bike started plunging in the air, I made a quick turn to the right, and escaped tough a big forest.

To my surprise, something was still shooting at us. The guard didn't fall into the trap. He was vigorously following us between the giant trees. I pressed on it and tried to lose him, but everybody knows that the clone troopers are well trained at virtually anything, including, speeder bike driving. I looked at Chadi.

"_What should we do? I can't seem to lose him. He's really hard to get rid of!"_ I told Chadi as I almost flew right into a tree. _"Do something!"_

"_I've got an idea… Stay on the bike!"_ quickly said Chadi as he jumped off the bike. I gasped, turned around as he safely landed on the ground a few meters behind the bike. The clone trooper was still following me when all of a sudden; the guard's bike started shaking and the guard just blew off his seat, landed on a tree, and dropped on the forest floor. I turned around and went towards Chadi.

"_I think you pretty much knocked him up."_ I said while looking at the guard who obviously was knocked out, or maybe dead. _"How come you don't have a lightsaber?"_ I asked with much interest.

"_That's because I'm not a Jedi."_ he answered.

"_I thought only Jedi's could handle the force?"_ I said, trying to get him to confess.

"_It's complicated, I'm not a Jedi, but I still have knowledge of the force. You see, when I was 12 this Jedi Master called Quinlan Vos came on Tatooine and found me. Seeing great potential in myself, he decided to show me the ways of the force, but felt that I was too old to be presented to the Jedi Counsil as a new comer, so he kept my training a secret. I now know a lot about the force, but since I've never went to Corellia to expand my knowledge, I stayed on Naboo and became the Guardian of my own town, Tena Vivra. I protect my own people against the clone troopers and the people from the empire."_

"_Well… that means that you are some kind of Jedi, no?"_ I added still questioning myself on what just happened.

"_I don't like to refer myself as a Jedi; I mostly like to refer myself as a Force Adept. It's kind of like a Jedi, but without all the unfunny stuff."_ said Chadi. _"We have to leave, because I'm sure the clone trooper called for reinforcements! Let's go to my village, and alert everyone of what just happened."_


End file.
